Let the flames begin
by We Fight-We Love
Summary: Shepard and James,in the final battle. Their goal ? Reach the Crucible, and save the galaxy. This is their last moment of glory. Songfic, based on Let the flames begin by Paramore and on ME3 ending. First story in English, sorry for the mistakes !


_What a shame we all became, such fragile broken things,  
A memory remains, just a tiny spark._

Earth was on fire. Their world, their home, was blazing.  
A memory came into her mind. The first time she had to leave her planet. She had just joined the army, and it was her first assignment.  
The life on a ship was extraordinary, but she missed the sensation of attraction to the ground.  
Her planet was all the family she ever had. The Reapers just couldn't take it away from her.

_I give it all my oxygen, to let the flames begin,  
So let the flames begin.  
Oh Glory... Oh Glory._

It was their turn. These monsters will burn and disappear, like all the people they killed the last past few months. She promised it, and she would die for it.

_This is, how we'll dance when,  
when they try to take us down. _

Around her, some zombies were trying to slow them. They were surrounded by the Reapers' monsters. Mauraudeurs, cannibals, brutes. Even an awful banshee.  
But she was born to fight, and she only felt alive during a battle. It was like a dance, a shot on the left, then a punch on the right. She was enjoying herself, as James did.  
He was by her side since the beginning, and they understood each other naturally, like they had d always been together. They had talked, and laughed, and "danced" so many times, that this fight was just one more round.

_This is what we'll be, oh glory.  
_

Together, they would defeat their enemies. They swore it.

_Somewhere weakness is our strength,  
And I'll die searching for it._

Before they had the time to realize it, they had fallen for each other. It was both their weakness and their strength. What's stronger than that feeling? Fight for the one your love could make you feel so invincible. But it could also drag you down, deep down, slowly, perversely. Because the last thing you want was him to be hurt, or him to die. And as the Commander Shepard, she had a duty. To sacrifice people was part of this duty, even if it was someone she had loved from all her heart.

_I can't let myself regret, such selfishness.  
My pain I know the trouble caused, no matter how long,  
I believe that there's hope._

It wasn't the time for love, she perfectly knew it. And she knew how selfish this feeling was. But she just hadn't been able to let him go. She had lost so many people that a bit of tenderness wasn't too much.  
So they had decided to live with that decision, even if they perfectly knew the aftermath it would have. Maybe, when everything would be over, they'd finally find peace. They'd be happy.

_Buried beneath it all, and,  
Hiding beneath it all and,  
Growing beneath it all and...  
_

Someday, it would be their time, no more need to be afraid. But right now, the Crucible was waiting for them.  
The end was near.

_This is, how we'll dance when,  
when they try to take us down._

James was hurt on the left arm, and he seemed exhausted.  
"Don't give up, it's just another dance. "  
She wouldn't let him die now. The Reapers had taken too many friends away, she wouldn't let them have him.  
Because they fought for Earth.  
Because they were the last hope of these people.

_This is how we'll sing out...  
This is, how we'll stand when,  
when they burn our houses down,  
This is what we'll be Oh Glory!  
_

Skyscrapers were collapsing next to them. Everything was destroyed by the enemy, whereas they kept going forward their goal. It was just a question of time before they finally reached the Crucible.

_Reaching as I sink down into life. _

Suddenly, a red light appeared.  
Blank, and silence.  
Then the next moment, she was lying on the ground, James next to her. She shook him. He was badly injured, and so was she.

_Reaching as I sink down into life. _

They walked together, helping each other. Just a few meters, and they would be able to do it.

_This is, how we dance when,  
when they try to take us down._

James fell down the ground. She hit him to wake him up. Heavily, he stood next to her. They could handle it. They could save the world.

_This is how we'll sing out.  
This is, how we'll stand when,  
when they burn our houses down._

She called him by his name.  
"Don't worry, Lola. I won't give up."  
Just in front of them, a column of light. Her hand in his, they stepped into it. Slowly, they left the ground. They were making it.  
She smiled at him.

_This is what we'll be Oh Glory!_

Together, they would blow out the fire, and the war.  
Together, they would enter the legend.


End file.
